Folk2Folk - A Historic Lending System with a Modern Day Twist

Folk2Folk is a P2P platform that focuses on local lending and borrowing, promoting community and sustaining local businesses.

Originally launched in Cornwall in 2013, Folk2Folk has funded over £172m loans. Small businesses can make a request for a loan and have confirmation within days, with their capital normally arriving within weeks, rather than months. Investors are not only able to enjoy good returns, but can often see their money in action because they are helping to fund something local to them.

By not involving large financial institutions and simply working with individuals, Folk2Folk tackles a lack of transparency, over-complication and trust within the finance industry.

Folk2Folk has seen significant national expansion in the last two years, and it aims to arrange £20m of funding to around 100 businesses in and around its new branch in Harrogate (launched early 2017) within 12 months of opening. It certainly has plenty of potential for further growth around the country - according to UK parliament statistics, small businesses accounted for 99.3% of the businesses in the UK private sector in 2016.